Japanese culture | OHASHI Method

Back to Melbourne

Posted on February 22, 2017 by OHASHIMethod

This article appears in the first quarter issue of Pointers Magazine published by The Shiatsu Therapy Association of Australia. For a message from Ohashi and for more information about his upcoming April 2017 courses, tutorials and sessions at the Australian Shitatsu College in Melbourne, click here.

About Ohashi

Ohashi was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1944. Because of World War II, he experienced starvation and general deprivation, which caused a weak constitution. The condition of his biological health over the years informed his interest in traditional medicine, which he used to survive the problems caused by his childhood. Eventually, his personal experiences using and learning about traditional medicine brought him to develop his skills in healing, and then to disseminate his philosophy about health and life to other cultures.

In 1974 he founded the Ohashi Institute in New York City, a nonprofit educational institution, which offered shiatsu education and training in the United States and eventually to several other countries. Through the educational program developed by the Institute, and through teaching for other organizations, he has taught thousands of students in more than 27 countries over more than 40 years. He has also had the honor of treating many famous people over the years, including Liza Minnelli, Margot Fonteyn, Ivan Nagy, Henry Kissinger, and Mohammed Ali.

Ohashi has written six books on shiatsu and Oriental medicine, and produced 10 videos on his methods and techniques. His most popular book among professionals and laypeople is Reading the Body, which has been translated into 8 languages, a testament to its holistic representation of the human experience.

Ohashi and his son Kazuhiro visited the Australian Shiatsu College for the first time in 2015, when Ohashi came to teach. They were honored to be present for ASC’s 30th anniversary’s celebration, and are very pleased to return in April 2017 to teach three courses.

From Theory to Practice

Ohashi’s teaching spans both the intellectual aspect of Oriental Medicine as well as the practical side. The vast amount of information that Ohashi has gained from his intensive studies and many years of teaching and practice comes through in his courses. While information is mostly free and attainable, learning from Ohashi’s practical experience is invaluable. The three courses Ohashi will teach as ASC in April 2017 progressively illustrate how the fundamental philosophy and knowledge in his teachings inform his practical methods with therapeutic applications.

Ohashi’s Oriental Diagnosis

The Oriental medical modalities, such as acupuncture, Kan-poc (herbal teas), and shiatsu are forms of treatment and as well as means of diagnosis. You start your treatment in order to diagnose, then you start your diagnosis in order to treat. Treatment and diagnosis occur simultaneously. As a shiatsu therapist if you do not know how to diagnose, you cannot treat your clients. Therefore, it is helpful to study Oriental diagnosis to gain the knowledge you need to effectively treat clients.

In his course this year, Ohashi will cover aspects of this topic that bodywork practitioners and psychologists and other professionals will find useful for their work. Understanding that each human being is a totality — a unified whole of body, mind and spirit — provides the Oriental diagnostician, shiatsu practitioner or counselor, deeper insights necessary to understand imbalances with human nature.

First, he discusses fundamental advice about Oriental Diagnosis; the differences in diagnosis between Eastern and Western medicine; and the four types of diagnosis in Oriental Medicine: Bo Shin; Setsu Shin; Mon Shin; Bun Shin. He then moves on to specific information about the face, with a discussion of its three zones — forehead, mid-region, and jaw and what is considered a balanced face. Ohashi will then lecture on individual features of the face: Forehead and its lines; Eyebrows; Eyes; Eye bags; Nose; Bridge of the nose; Philtrum; Mouth; Teeth; Ears.

The next section of the course covers areas of the body: the back, the hara, and feet. He will include bi-lateral distortions and how to correct them with shiatsu. He will demonstrate and students will practice on each other. Ohashi’s Oriental Diagnosis course ends with an analysis of shoes — his famous shoe diagnosis. In this segment a helper will pick up four pairs of shoes — two female and one male — which Ohashi skillfully analyzes the wearer’s health, financial condition and offers advice.

“Ohashi’s Oriental Diagnosis” course embraces useful diagnostic information you can apply immediately to your practice; the practical part of the course will help you to incorporate these techniques into your practice to enrich your treatments, making your clients healthier and happier.

Psychology of the Meridians

Life is chaos, which evolutes every minute. If we imagine ourselves as an ever-changing amoeba, we see that our psychological states manifest themselves into physical conditions. For example, consider a starving man. Physically his body requires nutrients. He craves food. Indeed, his entire body and mind are focused on finding food. His brain sends a signal to his eyes to look for food. His sense of smell is heightened to find the specific odor he craves. As he sees and smells something to eat, his mouth starts to water, beginning the digestive process even before he obtains food.

As the saliva moves down his esophagus into his stomach, his legs are told to move forward, towards the food, his second largest toe leading his entire body. Imagine the line of physical reactions from his brain to his eyes, nose, and mouth, down to his stomach and finally all the way to his legs and toes. The path follows the stomach meridian. When we have experienced starvation in our life, the stomach meridian may tend to be more Jitsu, resulting in an overabundance of ki energy, which helps us to obtain the food we need. Understanding this individual’s psychology can help us in caring for him. Will he need sedation on his stomach meridian? How does he react to stronger pressure on ST36 (Ashi San Ri)? Also consider this person’s lifestyle. Does he eat too much too fast? Would you describe his personality as neurotic? Are his meals irregular and distracted; is his appetite influenced by his moods. Perhaps his stomach meridian is kyo –– a deficit of ki energy. Aspects of both hypo and hyper conditions exist in the same person, along the same meridian and even the same tsubo. Pressing along his meridian, tonifying or sedating the ki energy, can help with the physical manifestations of this imbalance.

During his “Psychology of the Meridians” course, Ohashi demonstrates how these psychological states affect our bodies, and how Ohashiatsu® can be used on the body to influence the receiver’s psychological state. He explains his idea of the Birth of Meridians from a pictorial reference, for example, picturing the position and flow of the stomach meridian as a manifestation of childhood starvation. He will go through all 12 meridians from the reference of their “birth”, discussing and demonstrating their influence on the psycho-emotional states in mankind. Participants will learn 12 Meridian exercises that incorporate the psycho-emotion characteristic of each meridian. Participants will practice on each other, focusing on appropriate treatment for each meridian and emotion.

Muscle Meridian Sedation

Ohashi’s final course will be the practical application of techniques that sedate both muscles and meridians. These are techniques he developed over many years working with dancers and other clients with physical injuries, especially when a distortion was caused by a muscle. If a meridian is close to that muscle or muscle group, it is helpful to use pressure on the tsubos while tonifying the muscle.

Through observation you can determine where your receiver might need a stronger technique to quickly and effectively maximize the results of treatment. Imagine your client is storing an excess of jitsu energy in the neck, which caused her or him to complain of tension and headaches. S/he is nervous, busy, worried and stressed. The accumulation of painful energy causes anxiety about having the neck touched. So instead you work the cranial area, the shoulders and maybe the lower back. Once the client is relaxed and ready to receive a strong sedation, you can proceed to the neck, using a stronger technique that brings the desired result.

Immediately your receiver feels the relief from the excess energy stored in the neck for so long. The energy can slow again, which makes her/him feel opened up and happy. This is the basic concept of sedation. It’s a practical application of a powerful technique to complement your entire treatment. Sedation, when used sparingly, is the perfect addition to your practice regardless of modality.

The Australian Shiatsu College is pleased to sponsor Ohashi’s teachings in Melbourne in April, 2017. From his always entertaining and informational Oriental Diagnosis course, to his fascinating Psychology of the Meridians class, and finally his practical Muscle Meridian Sedation workshop, students will experience the breadth of Ohashi’s knowledge, experience and joy of teaching.

EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS MARCH 1

Enroll for all Three Courses: $975. SAVE $210 ($1350)

Take Any Two Courses: $680. SAVE $110 ($900)

Take Any One Course: $395. SAVE $55 ($450)

A.S.C. current, former and Ohashi’s 2015 course participants:
Receive an additional 10% discount when registered by March 1.

After March 1: $450 per course

Click for Registration Form & Courses Brochure

One Man’s Journey – Part 2

Posted on November 25, 2014 by OHASHIMethod

A Turning Point

In 1976, Ohashi was called back to Japan because his father was very ill with cancer. While caring for his father, Ohashi decided to study with Dr. Shizuto Masunaga, whose articles and monographs he had read. A psychologist-turned-shiatsu practitioner, Dr. Masunaga evolved his own method of shiatsu treatment and established a theoretical basis for shiatsu therapy. Based on his many years of clinical experience, Masunaga placed a large emphasis on the psychological effects of meridian energy.

1976 was also the year Ohashi’s first book, Do It Yourself Shiatsu, was published. He would follow this one year later with the publication of Zen Shiatsu, a collection of Dr. Masunaga’s monographs which he edited and translated. Ohashi chose the title to represent Dr. Masunaga’s approach to healing and life. The book, since translated into several languages, introduced Dr. Masunaga’s work to an English audience. After that Ohashi brought Dr. Masunaga to the US for several popular workshops.

The Evolution

Ohashi used what he learned from Masunaga to inform his own observations of human nature and his earlier experience in the U.S. human development movement. This would influence the evolution of Ohashi’s methodology and his own approach to shiatsu.

By 1979, the curriculum of Ohashi’s school, Shiatsu Education Center of America, was changing from a technical, left brain, book-oriented curriculum to a more experiential, right brain, feeling approach. Some of the School’s early instructors, especially Esther Turnbull and Pauline Sasaki, believed it would be better for students to learn to feel before incorporating book knowledge into their techniques. Over the next few years, Ohashi and the school’s instructors continued refining and expanding the curriculum. Their focus was on how to make giving a treatment session easier, and how to make it healthier for the giver. As Ohashi’s method evolved, it could no longer be called “shiatsu.” The approach and delivery of the technique was unique, something epochal.

Some years later, Ohashi would recount in Beyond Shiatsu, when he taught in English while in Japan: “When traditional knowledge returns to its source in a changed form, it must be presented in a different way. The very idea of self-development is an American one, not at all Japanese. The term shiatsu happens to be Japanese, but the practice of healing through touch is not exclusively Japanese. Ohashiatsu is universal.”

New Names/New Digs/New Schools

The new curriculum became popular and it became clear that Ohashi’s teaching and his modality needed to be differentiated from “traditional shiatsu.” In 1982, “Ohashiatsu” was trademarked, and with his new modality so named, “Shiatsu Education Center of America” no longer fit his school. In 1984, the name of the school was officially changed to The Ohashi Institute. Its instructors and consultants were given the titles of “Certified Ohashiatsu® Instructors” or “Certified Ohashiatsu® Consultants.”

The Ohashi Institute was outgrowing the space on 55^th Street in mid-town Manhattan, and Ohashi once again went looking for a new location. At last, after a two-year search, the Institute leased a large space on 27^th Street, five times larger than its previous location. The décor, embodying the principles of Japanese aesthetics, was carefully designed to provide a tranquil and comfortable space for students to meditate and to study,

Beautiful, customized space for the West 27^th Street location.

The Eighties

Ohashiatsu® increased its popularity in Europe and the first European student graduated in 1980. The early European sponsors and instructors, Johan Byer and Rosemary Solterman from Switzerland, and Klaus Metzner from Germany, soon set up branch schools in their respective countries. Since they were just beginning, Ohashi sent US instructors to teach until the European graduates could train to become instructors themselves. Schools were organized in Heidelberg, Munich, Muenster, Zurich, Basel and Bern. An Italian graduate, Alfonso Crosetto, became the first to sponsor courses in Italy, establishing a school in Turin, Italy. Others set up schools in Florence, Rome, Milan and Asti. Today there are more than 20 Certified Ohashiatsu® Instructors and Consultants in Italy, teaching in various cities. In addition, COIs teach in Austria, Canada, France, French Guiana, and the Netherlands.

In 1988, an American graduate, Matthew Sweigart, began offering courses in Evanston, Illinois, inviting COIs from New York to teach. By 1990, he opened the first Ohashiatsu® branch school in the US. A year later, Hazel Chung, a former dancer, opened another branch in Ellicott City, Maryland. Other COIs started organizing courses in Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; Amherst, MA; Honesdale, PA; and in Westchester and Long Island, NY.

As we have seen, Ohashi’s own development of a compassionate and effective approach to healing through touch drew not only on traditional sources like shiatsu, the martial arts, and Eastern Medicine. He was also influenced by the humanistic alternative education movement, as promoted by leading organizations of the day: the Esalen Institute in California and the Omega Institute in New York. Another important learning source for Ohashi is his collaboration with instructors, students, and even his clients, whom he credits everyday. One of his favorite teachings is, “Every single day you are developing, improving. Your receiver is your teacher. Your receiver is your examiner.” He wrote of his 1996 book Beyond Shiatsu, “It has taken me more than 20 years to write this book, because I am still studying, still changing. Each day I discover something to improve my technique.”

Ohashi in Print: In keeping with his philosophy of knowledge being more effective when it is widespread, Ohashi recognized the value of publishing and devoted hours to writing several books. Many of these books have been translated into multiple languages.

In our final chapter of One Man’s Journey, we will talk about globalization, refinement and the future.

One Man’s Journey

Posted on April 16, 2014 by OHASHIMethod

The Beginnings

Wataru Ohashi was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in June of 1944. Even though he and his family lived in the rural area and were not in the city when the atomic bomb fell the following year, they did not escape the ravages of war. He was born prematurely and malnourished because of this mother’s poor health. As a baby he was fragile with a weak constitution. Then, at less than two years of age, his short life was threatened by dehydration from cholera, which spread through the town where he lived. Many children his age died. Because no Western-style medicine was available, his family turned to Oriental medicine The ancient healing art of moxibustion, commonly called “heat acupuncture,” saved his life. He still bears the round scars of the moxa burned directly on his skin, on CV 46 and BL 23. He regards these scars as “Seals of Life.” This early childhood event set the direction that Ohashi’s life would eventually take — one of a career in healing, although that path would not show itself until he had explored other options.

Ohashi attended Chuo University in Tokyo, where he majored in American literature. At the same time he became interested in the type of healing that had saved his life and decided to take a course in shiatsu. He was also interested in going to the United States to experience African-American history, literature and the civil rights movement that he studied at university. In spite of his family’s objections he made plans to go there after graduating from college.

Thus began his journey in 1970 to the United States. A journey that would take him much further than he ever dreamed at the time. He spent two weeks on a boat to reach California, and then another week by Greyhound bus to reach the South, where he enrolled at Tougaloo College, a predominantly African-American college outside Jackson, Mississippi, to improve his English. He later transferred to Howard University in Washington, DC, but studied for only 6 months, as he found living in Washington, DC, offered many different kinds of education that interested him more. To support himself, Ohashi fell back on the old healing techniques he knew and started giving shiatsu sessions at a health club located in the Watergate complex. Among his clients were then US Attorney General John Mitchell and Governor William Egan of Alaska.

One day, Ohashi was called to the Kennedy Center where the American Ballet Theatre was rehearsing. Their principle dancer, Ivan Nagy, had injured himself and was in a great deal of pain. Ohashi gave Nagy a few sessions and within two days the dancer was back on stage. And so began a long relationship between Ohashi and the dance world. The connection was so strong that Ohashi soon moved to New York City to be close to his new-found clients and friends.

The Growing Years

“Where do ideas come from?” A profound question. Usually, it’s a small group of people, not necessarily connected, that influence a “movement.” The human development movement of the 1970s was just beginning when Ohashi arrived in New York. Without realizing it, he became one of the people in the US who would have such an influence. Many of today’s ideas about healing and alternative health began with this “handful of people” who were exploring a new lifestyle. Ohashi’s ideas and teaching can be found in many modalities.

He knew that giving sessions one-on-one would only get his health message to a few. Recognizing that teaching was the way to get information out to many, in 1973 Ohashi started the Shiatsu Dojo on the upper west side, with two “secretaries” who wanted to study with him and help him establish his school. They helped him to understand English, how to maneuver through city and state bureaucracy in order to incorporate the school, and with registration and promotion.

Within two years, Ohashi was so busy with students and clients that he outgrew the small space where he started. He needed to look for new space. He took out a map of New York and made a square extending from 60th Street to 50th Street and from 7th Avenue to Lexington. His assistant exclaimed, “But, Ohashi, that’s the most expensive area! You can’t afford it!” “I can’t afford anything,” Ohashi calmly replied. “So I can’t afford not to be there.” Within ten days, in 1974, Ohashi moved to 55th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, in the prestigious Midtown district. It was the second floor of a midtown brownstone. There he established the Shiatsu Education Center of America, which he founded as a nonprofit organization.

Needing instructors to help him, he decided to start training his students to teach. His first instructor was Pauline Sasaki. In the summer of 1975, Ohashi obtained a ride with one of his students to travel to a yoga retreat in upstate New York. A young woman along for the ride was in the publishing field and would later become his wife, Bonnie Harrington.

Ohashi first published a 5×4-foot Meridian and Tsubo chart in 5 colors (the colors of the Five Elements), which received a design award. He had already started writing Do-It-Yourself Shiatsu, which was published in 1976, and is still in print. Soon this book was translated into German, French and Italian, and organizations started to invite Ohashi to teach in Europe – first to Eschweiler, Germany in 1977; then to Switzerland the next year, and soon after to Italy. His book and those of other American writers were introducing Europe to the human potential movement. Within a few years, Ohashi began sending his American instructors to teach the entire curriculum. Soon Europeans started traveling to New York City to study the entire program. Ohashi was living up to his name, which means “Big Bridge.” Western Europeans were traveling west to study in America, and Ohashi was traveling east to teach in Europe. Many were crossing the bridges that Ohashi built.

This was just the beginning: next month we’ll discuss The Evolution of how Ohashi transformed shiatsu into the entirely new, elevated form we know now as Ohashiatsu®.

JAPANESE KNIVES (HOCHYO). Part 1 – Swords in the Kitchen

Posted on May 9, 2012 by OHASHIMethod

When John Steinbeck, the famous American novelist, came to Japan for the International Pen Club convention, he bought several Japanese cooking knives as souvenirs. I’ve always been curious to know why Mr. Steinbeck was fascinated by these knives. He may have been impressed by the quality of Japanese knives, or by their sharpness, or perhaps he was amazed by their variety. Since he has passed away and since I can’t find any clue in his writings, I don’t know what prompted him to buy these knives. But I sometimes evaluate people by what they buy as gifts from foreign countries, and I am impressed that John Steinbeck didn’t buy cheap Kimonos or cameras or pearls for souvenirs.

Japanese cooking knives are first of all of extremely good quality and, secondly of great variety. Part of our cultural heritage is swordmaking and this traditional skill has inspired Japanese cutlery. The Japanese sword is a symbol of Japanese Samurai culture. In past centuries, when one looked at a sword one could tell to whom it belonged, his social status, his ability as a Samurai, something of his swordmanship, and also of his spirituality. Samurai always competed to possess the best sword which encouraged swordmakers to improve the quality of their work. Because swords were so important, swordmakers kept the secrets of their technology among their family or disciples.

One of the greatest secrets in the process of making swords is the temperature of the water used in tempering the blade. Again and again, the sword is removed from the heat, hammered and immersed in water. The precise temperature is what gives durability and sharpness – so each maker kept this secret to himself. Occasionally a new apprentice or a stranger to the workshop would pretend to fall and in doing so would stick his hand in the water. The swordmaker had the right to chop off his hand there and then. The same kind of secret technology is now involved in Japanese knife-making since we no longer need swords for fighting. Each Japanese knife maker is proud to put his own name on his knife; as if it represents his spirit in material form. When a Japanese chef is permitted to open his own restaurant, after grueling years of apprenticeship, and be his own master, he is given the best quality knives as a symbol of his craftsmanship, his spirituality and his dedication, as if they were the sword of a Samurai.

Every morning a Japanese chef sharpens his knives as if he were sharpening his cooking abilities. Japanese food such as Sashimi is so simple – just sliced raw fish prepared with no sauce or dressing; because of this it is difficult to impress with your cooking expertise. Slicing is the only preparation and how you slice can be evaluated at the first bite of sashimi. Next time when you go to a Japanese restaurant sit in front of the Sushi Bar. After the first bite if you have the courage to say to the chef, “You haven’t sharpened your knife today; though I find your raw fish very fresh, the cut is dull,” the chef will respect you and give you the best quality food. The importance of the knife is great; such a simple factor, which cannot be camouflaged. When a chef moves from one restaurant to another he always brings his own knives; he is attached to them as if they were a part of himself. When he retires or gives up his franchise he will allow his disciple or son to use his name and restaurant and will generally give his knives as a symbol of giving his own self.

~ TO BE CONTINUED

Next time: Variety of Knives

Cooking Fried Rice: a Little Enlightment

Posted on April 28, 2012 by OHASHIMethod

This is a wonderful recipe which I cook in the wok. The wok is my favorite tool! With a wok you can deep fry, sauté, boil and even steam. And this is my top secret – I cook a very beautiful smoked fish with a wok.

If you have a very good wok – heavy, big and well seasoned – you can make fried rice. Try this recipe. After you’ve made this recipe a couple of times, then read this next sentence:

Did you make this fried rice three times? I believe you made a mess.

This is my advice…

First, burn your wok until it is smoking. This means you cannot make good fried rice with aluminum or teflon coated or an electric wok. You need a gas burner with at least 2000 BTUs. After the wok smokes, wipe up the inside with a paper towel to clean out any previous leftovers. Then add your vegetable oil and as soon as possible add your ingredients according to the time it takes to cook each ingredient. For example, add the onion and ginger first. If you don’t organize your ingredients in a chronological cooking order, you will make a big mess.

Second advice – when you are frying rice, always hurry up; always move your body, shaking your back with the wok over a high flame. Keep all your ingredients ready and at hand. Never look for salt during the cooking.

Final advice- If you are very impatient in your life, cooking with a wok is the best teacher for you.

If you aren’t always relaxed or a little enlightened – don’t cook with a wok.

FRIED RICE Recipe

2 cups rice, cooked and cooled

¼ lb. chicken, raw and diced

1/3 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ onion, diced

Green of one leek, broken (but not cut) in 2 in. lengths

1/3 leek, chopped coarsely

¼ lb. cooked (or canned) bamboo shoots, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1 ½ tsp. soy sauce

1 ½ tsp. dry sherry

6 Tbls. vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten lightly with pinch of salt

Salt

Mix soy sauce, dry sherry and leek greens. Marinade the chicken in this mixture for 15 minutes.

Heat 1 Tbls of oil in wok and stir-fry chicken over high heat until tender. Drain and set aside.

Rub shrimp with salt, wash and drain, and sprinkle with salt again. Heat 1 Tbls. oil, and stir-fry shrimp over high heat until color changes. Remove.

Heat 1 Tbls oil, and stir-fry onion, mushroom, bamboo shoot, and carrot over high heat. Add chicken and shrimp to vegetables, mix and divide into two parts.

Heat 3 Tbls oil and stir-fry leek briefly over high heat, pour in egg mixture and scramble. Remove half of scrambled eggs to plate, leaving half in wok.

Add 1 Tbls oil to wok, heat again, and fry half of cooked rice over high heat until grains are separated, stirring constantly. Then add half of vegetable-meat mixture, and stir well. Add soy sauce and salt to taste. Remove to plate. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Combine in serving dish and serve hot.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Posted on April 18, 2012 by OHASHIMethod

Today, Wednesday, April 18,I will go to the Brooklyn botanical gardens to see the Cherry blossoms– the Japanese ritual of Sakaru. Then I go on to Integral Yoga Institute to teach my Practical Course tomorrow. ~ Ohashi

The Japanese cherry blossom tree, better known as Sakura, holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese. If you do not already know, Sakura bloom in early spring around Japan starting in Okinawa and run north to Hokkaido. In times gone by the short life of the Sakura blossoms symbolically represented the life of the samurai, meaning that life was beautiful however short. The aforementioned symbolism still holds sway in the heart of many Japanese.

Viewing Sakura, cherry blossom is a spring ritual for most Japanese. Visit at day or at night during the spring season any shrine or park for various hanami, blossom viewing activities which include traditional dances, lantern lighting, and food and drink.